NASA monitors carbon monoxide from California wildfires

Date:
September 14, 2020
Source:
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Summary:
The observations from Earth orbit show high-altitude concentrations
of the gas that are more than 10 times typical amounts.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), aboard the Aqua satellite,
captured carbon monoxide plumes coming from California wildfires
last week. There were 28 major wildfires burning across the state as
of Sept. 14. This includes the August Complex Fire, which started on
Aug. 17 and has since burned over 471,000 acres, making it the largest
fire on record in California.


==========================================================================
The animation shows three-day averages of carbon monoxide concentrations
around 3 miles (5 kilometers) up in the atmosphere between Sept. 6 and
Sept. 14. The red and orange areas indicate regions with extremely high
carbon monoxide concentrations of greater than 350 parts per billion
by volume (ppbv). The more normal, background concentrations of carbon
monoxide show up as yellow and green, with amounts between 30 and 50 ppbv.

Released by the fires along with smoke and ash, carbon monoxide is a
pollutant that can persist in the atmosphere for about a month and can
be transported great distances. At the high altitude mapped in these
images, the gas has little effect on the air we breathe; however, strong
winds can carry it downwards to where it can significantly impact air
quality. Carbon monoxide plays a role in both air pollution and climate
change.

The intense heat from the wildfires lofted the carbon monoxide high
into the atmosphere, enabling detection by the AIRS instrument. The jet
stream then blew the carbon monoxide plume eastward across the U.S. and
over the Atlantic Ocean.

AIRS, in conjunction with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU),
senses emitted infrared and microwave radiation from Earth to provide
a three- dimensional look at Earth's weather and climate. Working
in tandem, the two instruments make simultaneous observations
down to Earth's surface. With more than 2,000 channels sensing
different regions of the atmosphere, the system creates a global, three-dimensional map of atmospheric temperature and humidity, cloud
amounts and heights, greenhouse gas concentrations and many other
atmospheric phenomena. Launched into Earth orbit in 2002, the AIRS and
AMSU instruments fly onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and are managed by
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, under contract
to NASA. JPL is a division of Caltech.

The latest carbon monoxide data, as well as other information from NASA
Earth- observing missions can be viewed at the fully interactive Eyes on
the Earth (https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/earth/#/). With the "Latest Events" feature, you can explore geo-located satellite images of recent Earth
events, including algal blooms and wildfires.

More information about AIRS can be found at: https://airs.jpl.nasa.gov

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by NASA/Jet_Propulsion_Laboratory. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


==========================================================================


Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200914212926.htm

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